Mark Twain's "The War Prayer"

Over 20 years ago, a church friend told me about Mark Twain's "The War Prayer," a marvelous piece of satire. I found it in a small book and immediately became smitten by it. "The War Prayer" is directed at those who glory in war, and it extrapolates the effects of their prayers for battlefield victory.

"Help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells...
help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, 
writhing in pain; 
help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; 
help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; 
help us to turn them out roofless with little children to wander unfriended 
the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst...Blast their hopes, blight their lives...
make heavy their steps...
stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet!"
It's a pretty amazing piece. I included it among "Steve's Stuff," where I'm putting a variety of things that strike my fancy. It has some relevance in this age of war-mongering. You can read it here.

Posted on September 22, 2006 12:04 PM|

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